He plays Lottery games every once in a while, an electrical lineman from Calvert County told Lottery officials. While he never has a particular game in mind, the Port Republic resident favors games with big-money top prizes. By a lucky coincidence, he ended up buying a Powerball ticket on Dec. 13 at a Prince Frederick retailer.
“I decided to get a Lottery ticket while I was at the gas station, so I asked the cashier what jackpot game was drawing that day,” said the 32-year-old. “When the guy told me that it was a Powerball night, I asked for a Powerball ticket.”
As he began his Tuesday morning routine, the lineman remembered his $4 quick-pick ticket and checked the Monday night Powerball results on his Lottery app. “It said I’d won $50,000. I knew that couldn’t be, so I turned the app off, powered up again and checked.” The app still reported a $50,000 prize! “I did this two more times to be sure.”
Our Southern Maryland winner found it difficult that day to keep his focus. “I wanted to keep the win quiet at work, but it sure was tough. I don’t have that great of a poker face.”
His plans for the $50,000 third-tier Powerball prize include sharing some of it with his family and adding to the cash he needs for a down payment on a house. “We’ve been saving for a long time,” he said. “This finally puts us over the top.”
His lucky win occurred at Ken-Mar Liquors located at 1525 Solomons Island Road in Prince Frederick. No one hit the Powerball jackpot in Wednesday’s drawing, so players can try their luck at winning the $353 million jackpot Saturday, Dec. 18. The cash option is $256 million.
Lottery magic was in the air Monday night, when a player won a $166,334 progressive jackpot on a FAST PLAY Jackpot Party ticket and a Powerball player won $50,000 in the Dec. 13 drawing.
The lucky FAST PLAY ticket is the third progressive jackpot won in the $10 game, which retired from the FAST PLAY game lineup after the most recent jackpot ticket sale. The winner bought the ticket at FDK Groceries, located at 430 East Patrick Street in Frederick.
As for Powerball, no one hit the jackpot but a player bought a $50,000-winning ticket at Ken-Mar Liquors located at 1525 Solomons Island Road South in Prince Frederick. Maryland had 12,491 other winners of prizes ranging from $4 to $100. The winning Powerball numbers to match were 10, 30, 37, 53, and 59; the Powerball was 4.
The Powerball jackpot rolled to $333 million for the Wednesday, Dec. 15 drawing with a cash option of $241 million.
Lottery officials encourage both big winners to sign the back of their tickets immediately and put them in a safe location. Winners get 182 days from the date of the drawing to claim prizes.
Instructions on claiming prizes in person or by mail are available HERE. Players must redeem prizes larger than $25,000 by mail or at Lottery headquarters in the Montgomery Park Business Center, 1800 Washington Blvd., Suite 330 in Baltimore. The Lottery’s Claims Center in Baltimore is open by appointment only (no walk-ins). Click here to schedule an appointment.